The official story, more or less.
A history reconstructed from receipts, photographs, and things Dana remembers differently.
The beginning
There was no founding manifesto. There was a room in Broomfield, a receipt for office furniture, and someone who remembered to bring mugs. The first all-hands consisted of asking who wanted tea. Participation was high.
Visit the scene ↗
Shortly afterward
Zidea was short, available in the room, and sounded like it might mean something. A consultant later supplied seven possible meanings. We paid for three and use none. The lowercase letters were a practical decision: ambition was already taking up enough space.
Visit the scene ↗
The first growth phase
A bold promise travelled to Bengaluru and returned as functioning software. This established a pattern. We celebrated the promise in a company-wide email. We are using this paragraph to celebrate the people who did the work.
Visit the scene ↗
The international years
Shanghai built prototypes. Sydney learned when to stop. Amsterdam asked better questions. Kyiv made room at the table. We called this our global footprint, because “more people we are glad to know” did not sound expensive enough.
Visit the scene ↗
The brand era
Los Angeles wanted a photograph that felt human. Procurement wanted dimensions. Nobody copied Procurement. Seventeen teams have since discovered that a lowercase a is a substantial object. The photographs are excellent. The shipping invoices have their own archive.
Visit the scene ↗
The strategic retreat
Montana was supposed to be a week away from the office. Ruth, Cal, and Jo found they could do the work there. Headquarters asked for a business case. They sent the finished work. Budget the dog joined without going through an agency.
Visit the scene ↗
The misunderstanding
Someone took minutes. Someone else took them literally. Six colleagues ended up in orbit with excellent technical support from Broomfield and a very robust policy about loose objects. We now review metaphors before sending them to Purchasing.
Visit the scene ↗
The current situation
The lunar habitat needed something alive that was not on a conference call. Dana sent a plant. It is doing well. Down in Atlantis, a ray crosses the dome each afternoon. On Earth, people are making lunch. We have not found a better ending for the history yet.
Visit the scene ↗
There are worse things for a company to be.
Meet the people writing the next bit ↗